Hexes on the Huron River

Thursday afternoon in Ann Arbor, Michigan. What are you going to do? Grab a Sandwich at Zingerman's Deli, maybe a Victors Golden at Grizzly Peak Brew Pub or catch some Blues at the Blind Pig. You can always walk the campus at the real U of M and take in some history or absorb some extra I.Q. Or maybe meet a friend and Mr. Paul Christensen at Colton Bay Outfitters to talk a little Fly Fishing and then head to the Huron River. A 15 minute drive - slip into the waders - rig up your Split Bamboo Fly rod and the next thing you know, a feisty Smallmouth bass puts a bend in your rod.

I finally got a chance to try out the Dry Fly fishing for Smallmouth Bass on this great little river just about in my back yard (ok maybe 40 minutes from home) and as you will see, our guide and his river came through with flying colors!


Johnny and Paul break the ice within minutes of walking into the river. Clean water, shady banks and catch and release regulations have turned this stretch a water into a real sweet walk in the park.

Your humble rodmaker get a chance to bend some Bamboo on a nice little Smallmouth and away we go.

Our Guide du jour, Paul Christensen tries out some BHT Bamboo. A colorful guy who fishes a vintage Fenwick fiberglass fly rod, I immediately got the impression that this young man appreciates a fine rod, as well as knows this river like the back of his hand! Learn more about Paul at his website - Huron River Fly-fishing

	Johnny puts another one in the net. The cigar is burning - it's getting on towards dusk and the landing net is dripping wet. What more could you ask for?
Paul shows us another clean little Huron River smallmouth. Still fishing in the sunshine, we are patiently waiting for evening.

And away we go. Starting up just at dusk the mayflies did their thing, a strong mix of Hexes, Isonychia and Ephron rolling up river and it did not take long for the big guys to get on the feed.


Another fat smallie tricked on top - it even brings out a reserved smile from Mr. Christensen.

The End of the Evening (with bugs crawling in my mouth)

We were able to enjoy this evening because of fortunately winning a guided trip on the Huron River, donated by Paul to the Ann Arbor Area Trout Unlimited fund raising banquet.
Thank You Paul for caring about our rivers and a great night. See you again soon!